The Story of How I Got Into Wine Revealed on Happy Hour Radio

People always ask me, “How did you get into wine?” Well, actually, they don’t that much. But Christopher Chan did. He’s a sommelier who has ventured into the world of broadcast radio and invited me to be on his show, Happy Hour Radio.

One of the tales I tell is buying lots of Meridian Chardonnay, Ravenswood Zinfandel, and Rosemount Shiraz at my local bodega in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood in the late 90s. I was actually able to find it, right at the intersection of Broadway and Buena, via Google maps. I located the earliest street view (2007) and the memories started flooding back. I recalled a bar just west of the store on Buena that had a nice outdoor patio and excellent falafel sandwiches. Needless to say, I spend a lot of time at both places. (Side note: Kind of weird to have a place in Chicago called Manhattan Liquors, no?)

Here are some of the things you’ll hear about:

RADIO ON! Live in the studio with Haywire Baby Bub.

Getting seduced (by wine)

Shout-outs to alma maters Grinnell College (“very prestigious”) and Norther Arizona University (“Go Lumberjacks!”)

Young wine geek cred via Vouvray and Gewürztraminer from Alsace

A (mercifully brief) mention of working at a benefits consulting firm

How late-night carousing with restaurant employees honed my wine experience

Being terror-struck during my retail wine debut

The House of Glunz

Milwaukee’s Best Light

Going Haywire for BABY BUB (Thanks, Marc Smith! Check out 30 Day Adventures.)

Also on the show is Lucio Gomiero from Vignalta, a winery in Italy’s Veneto region. (Up north.) We taste a sensational sweet wine.

Listen to the show:

Happy Hour Radio

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